Andrew Litton returns every other year to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra, where he once assisted Mstislav Rostropovich. This time it was with a Russian program, one part showy treacle and two parts epic bombast, heard last night in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.

The last time the NSO played Shostakovich’s 11th symphony (“The Year 1905”), in 2005, it was one of the high-water marks of the tenure of Leonard Slatkin. It is a terrifying ride, a fist-clenching musical description of the Jan. 9, 1905, massacre carried out by the czar’s troops. In an unannounced lecture by Litton, accompanied by musical examples played by the orchestra, Litton illustrated the Russian songs quoted by Shostakovich... [Continue reading]